The Central Department of Health Protection (CHP) said a 37-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man were confirmed positive for the Wuhan virus, bringing the number of confirmed cases in Hong Kong to 12 Friday.
Reported by RTHK, CHP on Friday said two new cases had been confirmed in Hong Kong, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of the potentially fatal respiratory virus to 12. The two new patients were declared in stable condition.
The first case is a 37-year-old woman, who lives at The Coronation estate in Yau Ma Tei who is the daughter of an elderly couple from Wuhan, who was confirmed to have the virus on Wednesday. The woman developed a cough on Tuesday and was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital on Thursday, where she was then isolated. His respiratory sample tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
A CHP spokesman said it was immediately investigating and tracing the patient’s contact. It said the patient had previously stayed at the W Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui with his parents from January 22 to 28 and visited the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons Hotel with them.
The woman then returned home after accompanying her parents to Queen Mary Hospital on Wednesday. Initial investigations revealed that the patient had not visited a wet market or seafood market, nor had any exposure to wild animals or poultry during the incubation period.
The second case involves a 75-year-old man who lives at Hong Mei House, Cheung Hong Estate in Tsing Yi. The man developed a cough and shortness of breath on January 22 and was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital two days later. His respiratory sample tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.
The man, who is currently isolated at Princess Margaret Hospital, had previously visited Shunde in Guangdong between December 30 and January 7 and sought treatment at a clinic there. He made a day trip to Macau from January 10 to 14. Meanwhile, his wife, daughter and son who show no symptoms of illness will be transferred to a camp in MacLehose for quarantine.
The CHP said it would report the cases to the World Health Organization, National Health Commission, Guangdong Provincial Health Commission and Macau health authorities.
In addition, CHP also said it had received a confirmed case verification on Sunday by Taiwan’s health authorities and noted that the patient took China Southern Airlines flight CZ3097 from Guangzhou to Taipei last Saturday. A Hong Kong resident on the same flight was considered a close contact of the patient.
CHP said quarantine would be arranged for close contacts while medical surveillance would be arranged for other contacts.
